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Gulf War pilot sacked for letting footballer on flight deck loses unfair dismissal claim

Comments (0) Add to My Stories Captain Pablo Mason, pictured at an earlier hearing, has lost his claim for unfair dismissal for allowing footballer Robbie Savage to sit on the flight deck

A Gulf War squadron leader sacked for allowing a Blackburn Rovers footballer to sit on the flight deck of his jet has lost his claim for unfair dismissal.

An employment tribunal panel ruled that Thomas Cook Airline Services acted fairly in dismissing former RAF fighter pilot Pablo Mason, 58, for gross misconduct in 2007.

Captain Mason was fired by MyTravel, which has since merged with Thomas Cook, after permitting midfielder Robbie Savage on to the flight deck while flying Blackburn Rovers home from a match in Finland.
Savage had asked to be allowed in to help allay his fear of flying. But Captain Mason's bosses took a dim view and sacked him from his £90,000-a-year job for breaching anti-terrorism rules. he tribunal also heard that the flamboyant former Tornado pilot was on a final warning for stripping down to his underwear during a security check and being 'abusive' to airport staff.

He maintains that one of the incidents was not investigated fully and the formal warning - which contributed to his dismissal - should not have been given.

Disciplinary action was taken following an argument between the pilot and security staff at Birmingham Airport in 2006.

Captain Mason, from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, became 'aggressive and abusive' towards security guards after they insisted on checking his bag twice because the X-ray machine was broken, the Birmingham tribunal heard.

Speaking after yesterday's ruling, Captain Mason thanked the hundreds of people who sent him messages of support after his dismissal.

The RAF veteran, who saw action as a bomber pilot during the 1991 Gulf War, said he had 'no complaints' following the ruling.

Captain Mason, who represented himself during the proceedings, said that he had not been surprised by the ruling.

'I have been beaten in a very fair tribunal by an excellent barrister and I have no complaints at all about the way in which I have been treated,' he said.

'Unfortunately my wings were clipped and I think I will have to walk the rest of the way.'

Source
 
The summer 2013 schedule now appears to be sorted and is showing three based for BHX, great news as there were mutterings that we'd be down to two.

One or two changes, Faro and Paphos appear to have moved to Monarch Scheduled, Freebird look to be doing the Saturday Dalaman with an extra Enfidha too. The Saturday Alicante is back. The Tuesday Malta is listed as Air Malta, which is the same day as the Thomson Air Malta?
 
Thomas Cook one off Easter flight to MCO is back on sale departing on Fri April 11th returning Fri 25th April using an A330. It's only a one off at the moment but word is if it sells well then something more permanent may happen.
 
Picture courtesy of the BHX photo blog. The first visit of the new Thomas Cook tail logo.

G-FCLD_BHX_2013.10.03.jpg
 
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Thanks Ray. I like it, it looks nice, a subtle change but effective.
 
A321 G-TCDC was in this morning in the new grey and yellow livery, it's the first time I've seen in the flesh so to speak but I really do like it.
 
Ray Finkle said:
Thomas Cook one off Easter flight to MCO is back on sale departing on Fri April 11th returning Fri 25th April using an A330. It's only a one off at the moment but word is if it sells well then something more permanent may happen.

Premium class is completely sold out both ways and only 2 standard seats remain on the BHX-MCO leg, the other is full.
 
Good to hear.

There's no doubt that BHX's long haul IT offering is woeful, Thomson sell pretty much all their seats and these flights prove there is more demand out there, for Florida at the very least.
 
Winter 2014/2015

From winter 2014/15 Thomas Cook plan to base a fleet of entire A321's at BHX. The current 757 aircraft will be used on LGW and MAN routes with Thomas Cook opting for the newer A321's
 
I'd read that BHX was next in line to go all A321's, just not when. Sad to see the 757's slowly fade away they sure have been a fantastic aircraft.
 
Ray Finkle said:
I'd read that BHX was next in line to go all A321's, just not when. Sad to see the 757's slowly fade away they sure have been a fantastic aircraft.


I love the "Grinding" noise of the 757 engines when they are taking off, lying on the grass on a hot summer day in Sheldon Country park wont be the same when these have all gone. The A321's just isnt the same :cry: :cry:
 
It was posted not so long back that there was just two economy seats available on the outgoing BHX-MCO flight; the return leg was sold out completely. While I guess its easy to fill a one off A330 during a school holiday I hope this gives Thomas Cook food for thought; long haul IT from BHX is pretty woeful so I would really like them challenge Thomson's monopoly - perhaps a based A330 part week for flights to Orlando, Cancun, the Dominican Republic or Cuba? When all the Dreamliners have arrived a few extra Thomson flights wouldn't go a miss either.
 
BHX will see a fourth based aircraft for summer 2015 seeing an A320 alongside the three A321 that are replacing the 757's. There will also be three new destinations, Mytilene (Lesbos), Kalamata and Djerba with increases on other routes. A bit of good news at last :good:

Thomas Cook Airlines Offers More Destinations And Flights From Birmingham Airport in 2015

• Four aircraft to be based at Birmingham Airport in 2015 to include brand new Airbus A321
• 47,000 more flight seats and holidays on offer
• New routes to Greece and Djerba and daily flights to Dalaman


Thomas Cook Airlines @TCAirlinesUK has announced that it will base an additional aircraft at Birmingham Airport for summer 2015. The Thomas Cook Airlines fleet will also change to become three Airbus A321 aircraft, replacing the current Boeing 757 fleet, with the increase to four aircraft completed with an Airbus A320. As a result, the airline will be able to offer 47,000 more flight seats and holidays to customers in the Midlands.

Over the last few months, Thomas Cook Airlines has added six brand new Airbus A321 aircraft to its UK fleet, and this is set to continue in 2015 with three further deliveries from Airbus as part of the 25 aircraft being delivered to the Thomas Cook Group Airlines by 2016. With the airlines new fleet based at airports across the UK , Birmingham Airport is also set to become a base featuring the new aircraft in the airlines new Sunny Heart livery.

Rob Thompson, Thomas Cook Airline’s Director of Planning, said, “With increasing demand from holidaymakers for regional departures, it’s great news for travellers from the Midlands as we add more flexibility and choice with flights and holidays from Birmingham Airport.

“As a base that will include one of our new aircraft, we’re convinced that our customers will love the new comfort and reliability offered by our new fleet – and the great range of brand new flights for Birmingham Airport to Mytilene and Kalamata in Greece, and Djerba in Tunisia – and the daily service to Dalaman in Turkey, our most popular destination.”

William Pearson, Aviation Development Director at Birmingham Airport, said: “Thomas Cook’s decision to base an additional aircraft at Birmingham and introduce these exciting new routes means passengers looking to book a holiday for summer 15 now have even greater choice. Holidaymakers flying from Birmingham will also be able to take advantage of Thomas Cook’s new fleet of aircraft, including the brand new Airbus A321.

“The increased capacity, which includes an additional 47,000 seats being made available, demonstrates the strong demand that exists for flights to these summer destinations from Birmingham.”

For summer 2015, there will be a 20 per cent increase in flight seats available with Thomas Cook Airlines. These include three brand new destinations for Birmingham Airport to Mytilene (Lesbos, Greece), Kalamata (Greece) and Djerba (Tunisia) on top of the new-for-Thomas Cook destination of Paphos. The airline will also now be able to offer daily flights to Dalaman, as well as increased frequencies to Zante, Mahon, Bodrum, Antalya, Izmir, Bourgas and Fuerteventura.

These can be booked as part of holidays and flight only seats from Thomas Cook and Co-operative Travel stores in the Birmingham region, online at http://www.thomascook.com or by calling 0844 412 5970. Flight sales can be found at http://www.thomascookairlines.com

http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/meta ... ights.aspx

Hopefully their little dabble at Easter has shown that BHX could be a viable long haul destination for them, Orlando, Cuba and Las Vegas will do for starters :good:
 
I think the article already mentioned that Dalaman will go from 5x weekly this year to daily for S15.

Fuertuventura and Sharm-el-Sheikh both go from 1x weekly this year to 2x weekly next year.

Kalamata starts on 24/05/2015, Djerba 06/05/2015 and Mytilene 23/05/2015.

Naples has appeared in the menu but is not bookable yet, holidays are still being offered on the Thomson flights.
 
I've heard Dec 1st suggested by those who claim to be 'in the know' but I've seen nothing official.

Incidentally A321 G-TCDZ positioned in this morning to operate to Bodrum.
 

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9 trips in 9 days done 70 miles walked and over 23-00 photos taken with a large number taken at 20mph or above. Heavy rain on 1 day only
5 trips done and 45 miles walked,. Also the RAF has had 4 F35B Lightning follow me yesterday and today....
My plans got altered slightly as one of the minibus companies had to cancel 3 trips and refunded me but will be getting nice discount when I rebook them.
wondering why on my "holidays" I choose to get up 2 hours earlier than when going to work. 6 trips in 6 days soon coming up with 3 more days to sort out

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